What these people don't realize is that they are obligated by the IRS to pay a gift tax on all items they received and that tax is approx. 44%. Thanks but no thanks Oprah - i can not afford ur giftz

Too bad the writer's strike has SNL down. I would love to see what Maya Rudolph would do with this edition of O's fave things.

I would dry hump her for a fridge with a TV and DVD

@ae38: Err... technically, everyone has to pay that tax on any gifts you receive, not just the ones Oprah gives you.

So cross that one off your "reasons why Oprah is evil" list.

I don't know, it is nice and I am glad the audience got all of those presents, but it bugs me to see people jumping up and down and screaming over material things like that - something weird. I mean, crying because of a refrigerator? I think these days we put too much emphasis on financial/material happiness.

@ae38: Whoa that takes the fun out of it!

I scream along with the women when they get the gifts :)

@ae38: No kidding. I'd have to sell whatever I got in order to pay the taxes on it. I'd just say thanks, but no thanks to Oprah's gifts.

lol my sister just called me to tell me that she's depressed that she didn't get any of this free stuff. Jez, you're quick, she's still watching it I think and yall already posted. Oh technology!

I actually watched the first half hour of this because I love watching the audience shit their pants. Then I mixed a Bloody Mary and sat in my back yard reading a Bette Davis biography.

Wow! I can't imagine getting that apeshit crazy excited over anything.

The fridge is cool, but I can't imagine an occasion in which I would sit in my kitchen and watch TV or a movie on it.

@ceejeemcbeegee: Wait, scratch that, my bad, just re-read the code. The recipient doesn't have to pay, but the giver does. And the min gift amount is $12,000 per year per person, so her favorite things hardly qualifies.

www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=107815,00.html
(copy and paste)

Gift Taxes

IRS Tax Tip 2007-39

If you gave any one person gifts in 2006 that valued at more than $12,000, you must report the total gifts to the Internal Revenue Service and may have to pay tax on the gifts.

The person who receives your gift does not have to report the gift to the IRS or pay gift or income tax on its value.

@ceejeemcbeegee: and

@ae38:

I think the first $10K doesn't get taxed(?)

That fridge sounds silly, and it is odd to have this ode to commercialism right in between stories on rape in third world and eating disorders, but would I step over my own mother to get into that audience? Hell yeah. I'd have holiday shopping covered for the next, oh, five years.

@ceejeemcbeegee: Oh, wow - $12K now.

Yeah, I can't cry over a fridge. A really generous gift, but it's a FRIDGE.

That fridge would be *perfect* for stoners - food and TV in one place??? Yes, please.

@fabforever1: I agree! The thing that I find a little disoncerting about this show is that every time Oprah is presenting a new "favorite thing", the audience doesn't go bat-shit crazy until she says how much the retail price is. It could be a years supply of Shit on Rye and if Oprah was like, "Retails for $1000!", the audience would fall out of their chairs in excitement.

A friend of mine worked at the Dr. Phil show for a while, and the amount of swag they got, especially around Christmas time, was absolutely ridiculous, but still not up to Oprah standards. Too bad the people there were total slave drivers, it sounded kind of hellish.

I like it better when she has people on her favorite things episode for a reason. Katrina victims, Iraq war families. That said, yes, I'd go freaking nuts for this crap.

Yes, good to know about the tax free gift limit when liquidating estates! No, really, my fam has saved on lots of inheritance taxes with this.

I'd take the fridge! If they are givin' em away for free!

I like Oprah.

@fabforever1 and Gloria: It's not just the fridge, or the car, or whatever she gives. It's the fact that Oprah gave it to them. The woman has a cult following. I know she draws attention to important issues and all, but she frightens me. When I worked at Big Box Bookstore any books she mentioned would sell out everywhere within an hour of her show airing and we'd have to field all these desperate inquiries from fans about when our next shipment of the book was due in.

Yahhh America!!! I must admit watching grown woman freak the fuck out of stuff is hilarious to watch.

But Oprah gives those damn uggs every year. Which I believe is half the reason for their consistent shelf life...

I'll take the fridge, camcorder and cupcakes please. (Also, no iPhone/iPod..weirdo.)

They remind me of those people on Extreme Home Makeover when the move the bus and they're falling all over the street and screaming and fainting and stuff. Granted, that's a house (with a refrigerator, and usually some other stuff), but screaming and fainting over Uggs. Come on! They're on the list every freaking year. Seriously, Oprah, time to move on from the Uggs.

@ThaKadinskyPapers: This reminds me of Katt Williams talking about weed so good you just sit in the kitchen and stare at the fridge.

@sixseeds: And she doesn't actually give them this stuff, right? Doesn't it come gratis from the manufacturers?

@sixseeds: Good point.

I think we need an experiment: Oprah gives out, say, used gym socks, and we'll videotape the results.

@sixseeds: Maybe this speaks to the sad state of literacy in America but, as with the Harry Potter craze, I'm just happy when people are reading. Anything.

So the TV and DVD player are built into the fridge? Who'd want to spend two hours sitting in front of their fridge watching a movie? I would - it depends on how drunk I am and how much Jaeger is in the fridge.

@polypam: I guess it bothers me that people are going nuts over all this stuff which is being given away as a form of advertisement. Can you imagine how competitive it must be to get those products to show on Oprah just before the holidays and how much more they will sell after this show? Also, I cried for the birth of my daughters, my wedding and when I helped some of the poorest people in Brazilian shanty towns, never because of a fridge!

I would take that fridge and sell the holy fuck out of it to buy something useful. I mean, fridges are useful, but who in god's name needs a goddamned television built into their fridge?

I would take a bottom freezer side by side and spend the rest on something awesome. Like an extra mortgage principal payment.

Man, Jez, you guys should start a money feature.

Giving is cool & all, but it's even cooler when you don't have to pay hidden costs. I never understand this about Oprah. Remember the cars she gave everyone(who could not afford cars?)Uh, if you don't have enough money to buy a car, why do you think these people will have $7000 to pay the tax on a new one? I'd love to know what happens when some people cannot afford to pay the tax on the gifts. Do the items get shipped back? Does Oprah personally tell them "Sorry, thanks for coming to the show anyway."
Honestly, I've had it with the Almighty Oprah.

Mmmmm... My fave is waaaay back when, on the Rosie show, when she and Sam Donaldson were voted Least Kissable in a Scope poll, so Rosie went apeshit with her "Just Say Nope to Scope" campaign and Listerine paid $1,000 to the her charity for every kiss she received on the show. It's a nice object lesson on the power of daytime television - anything mentioned on those shows goes thru the roof in terms of sales bumps. Oprah and Rosie really don't do anything other than mention the products on the show, and the companies do the rest. I'd say a good portion of those 'fave' gifts are already advertisers on the show or in the pages of their ancillary mags...

@gunshy007: This was covered above by @ceejeemcbeegee:
You don't need to pay taxes on gifts of $12,000 or less. Further to that, when Oprah gave away the cars, which were worth more than $12,000, she made sure to pay the taxes.

@gunshy007: For the record, the cars were considered "prizes" just like the shit people win on 'Jeopardy" or 'the Price is Right'. And people have to pay taxes on the winnings there too, not just the benefactors of Oprah's Fave Things. It's common practice for winners to pay taxes on the value of their winnings. Yet, no one's bitching about the taxes they pay on those shows. I wonder why Oprah's being singled out here?

I read the O list and vommed a little.

My mom and I talked about going to Chicago next year to get a bunch of free shit. Then she said "but how would we bring it home on the plane?"

@gra: Thanks.... I was just about to add that. And the winner could have sold the car pay the taxes. An undriven car worth $28k could easily fetch $20K. Pay the IRS the $7k taxes and keep the difference. That's a $13K profit, tax free! What's the problem with this, exactly?

@ceejeemcbeegee: My friend got SCREWED with taxes when she won the Showcase Showdown on Price is Right. She sold most of it but she still owed money.

I personally believe that some U.S. American women in the audience don't have refrigerators or television sets. Well, at least nice ones and they certainly don't have friges with the tvs in them like the one the Oprah has and such as. And I believe that our economic system over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, the U.S. women so they can build a better future for their children.

Wow, Bah Humbug in this comment section, huh?

@heidiho: Word. I had a neighbor who won a Jag on Scrabble. She had the money for the taxes, fortunately. She put it like this, "I just bought a $75K jag for 15 grand."

@elevendy: Such as.

I did think some people in the audience looked like they hoped for something a little more useful...

@beejshan: Word. I don't mind if people dislike Oprah. It's just if you don't like the woman, have an accurate reason.

@ceejeemcbeegee: Yes, I can't quite figure out why Oprah, of all people, inspires negativity in some people. She does many things to help people. The Oprah's Angles shows are amazing. She singles out regular people for their community service efforts and rewards them and the organizations that they support. Its awesome.

@sixseeds: So what? People are the same way about all kinds of celebs.

@JessicaLovejoy: AH! I just saw the Kat Williams special - that guy is so fucking funny I was laughing out loud in my empty apartment.

And as a future independent bookstore owner - anything that gets people reading is okay by me.

I will be totally happy with Oprah once she says "blood diamonds" on her show, and refuses to wear diamonds anymore.

And that James Frey freak show was AWESOME.

@ceejeemcbeegee: I think people are just scared of the power. Especially men. They see women watching, or observe how Oprah's words can influence real change, and they assume she's got all the poor wifeys brainwashed. I'm not her biggest fan, and some of her 'experts' are idiots (that 'doctor' who said finding porn was akin to child molestation... what's her name?), but I'll be damned if she's not one of the most amazing people around.

"EVERYBODY'S GETTIN' A 709 FOOOOOOOOOOOOORM"

@fabforever1: I feel like this kind of thing is inevitably said by someone who doesn't have to worry about money and can generally access the material goods she or he may desire. There might be folks in Oprah's audience who would never be able to purchase any of the items they won. And while it's not the entire answer to their life it might feel pretty damn good.

Fuck you. You're totally right!!

I do yell out "Oh god" when I puke, and when I cum.

The little things I don't realize could fill up a decent-lettered Encyclopedia.